Strategic workshops of „The tourism product development programme in the Polish-Belarusian borderland"

2014-06-23

The strategic workshops organized within the scope of the project entitled "An integrated project of support for tourism sector of Polish-Belarusian borderland" implemented by the Town Commune of Hajnówka took place between 27th and 29th March 2014 in Hajnówka and between 24th and 26th April 2014 in Belarus. The objective of the workshops was work on the directions for the „The tourism product development programme in the Polish-Belarusian borderland".

The workshop group consisted of the representatives of, inter alia, the tourism sector and local self-government both from Belarus and Poland. The schedule of the workshops included taking inventory and evaluation of the existing tourism potential of the Polish and Belarusian part of the Białowieża Forest, identification of potential tourism products as well as tourist needs and capabilities to fulfill them within the scope of different forms of tourism and tourism services supply, assessment of the market chances of the highlighted tourism products, review of the visual identification system as well as market communication of the tourism product.

The workshops also included the study visits which enabled the participants to familiarize themselves better with the tourism products located in the Polish-Belarusian borderland area introduced to the market thus far. The Belarusian visit plan consisted of visiting such tourism sites as: "Biełaja Wieża" in Kamianiec, St. Symeon Stylite Orthodox Church in Kamianiec, the Church of Holy Trinity in Volchin, historic landscape park around the Sapieha and Potocki palace complex in Vysokaye, Palace and Park Complex in Gremyache, fairytale residence of Ded Moroz within the area of the "Białowieża Forest" National Park. Whereas, in the Polish part of the Białowieża Forest, the participants got to know the tourism attractions situated mostly in the town of Hajnówek: the Museum of Smithery and Locksmithery, the Museum and Center of the Belarusian Culture, St. Cyril and Methodius Church, Aquapark, Narrow Gauge Railway Open-Air Museum. Moreover, they visited the J. Miklaszewski Museum of Nature and Forest functioning in the Białowieża National Park and Hotel Białowieski in Białowieża.